LEW BACK ON RIGHT TRACK
Hamilton shows he’s still ace of pace
LEWIS HAMILTON raised hopes he could get his F1 season back on track in Canada by setting the pace in first practice. The Brit ace has flopped this term, sitting 25 points behind title rival Sebastian Vettel after finishing only seventh last time out in Monaco. But he was back on song yesterday as he got the better of the German by 0.198seconds, on their first go of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve ahead of tomorrow’s race. Three-time world champion Hamilton was unusually despondent about his chances earlier this week despite winning this race times five times before. This, though, was a positive start to the weekend at a windy circuit, where he produced a best effort of one minute 13.809 seconds. Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third with Kimi Raikkonen nearly half-a-second slower than Hamilton in fourth. Elsewhere there was more despair for Fernando Alonso on his return to F1. The McLaren driver opted to appear in the Indy 500 rather than in Monte Carlo but the same reliability issues continued.
The Spaniard, 35, has threatened to leave at the end of the season and continued problems will do little to impress him.
He was told to park at a hairpin while his team later confirmed the stoppage was due to a loss of hydraulic pressure, with the cause unknown.
Alonso appeared in high spirits as he waved to the crowd but later commented on pointless McLaren’s problems saying: “We are used to it.”
Executive director Zak Brown claims they still plan to use Honda engines next year but solutions need to be found quickly.
He said: “The plan right now is to have the Honda in the back of the car in 2018 but some things need to happen between now and then for us to have the confidence we can be at the front of the field next year.
“We need to get competitive and show regular signs that we are getting competitive.
“Right now, we’re not racing well, not finishing races and that can’t happen any more.
“We are starting to work on the 2018 car so we need to make any decisions that impact 2018 by the summer break.
“Something needs to change. If you keep doing the same thing, you are going to get the same result.” Brit Jolyon Palmer also continued his struggles ahead of rumours that he could be replaced before the end of the season.
The 26-yearold was 18th in first practice, a huge 3.1 seconds behind the flying Hamilton.